August 15, 2012 – Local craft beer fans have a new reason to celebrate. Hunterdon Distributors is excited to announce that New Jersey will be one of three markets receiving Stone Brewing Co.’s “Stone Enjoy By 09.21.12 IPA.” The two other lucky distributors include Windy City of Chicago and the brewery’s own distribution network in Southern California.

Founded in 1996, Stone Brewing Co. is known by craft beer enthusiasts around the world for their award-winning, over-the-top, aggressively hopped brews, and the emphasis they place on enjoying their products at their optimal level of freshness. All Stone bottles are clearly marked with “enjoy by” dates and the brewery enlists sales reps, distributors and consumers to keep an eye on any outdated product in the market.

The new “Stone Enjoy By 9.21.12 IPA” takes this concept of “freshness” to a whole new level.

On August 17th, this new “hop bomb” will be bottled, kegged and shipped to participating markets where distributors will immediately commence deliveries to stores, bars and restaurants. The whole process should take no more than seven days from brewery line to shelf. Consumers will have four weeks to locate and “enjoy” this special release before the official deadline of, you guessed it, September 21, 2012. Any beer left in the market after this point will be pulled from shelves and returned to the distributors.

While the rigid 35 day timeline from start to finish requires a high-level of coordination and execution between the brewery, distributors and retailers, Stone is confident this project will help drive home their message and educate consumers about the tremendous importance of fresh beer in the market.

Consumers can expect to see product on store shelves and on tap at craft beer bars by the week of August 20th. Stay tuned with us on Facebook and Twitter for updates regarding its arrival and be sure to keep checking our event page for information about official Stone Enjoy By 09.21.12 release parties. In addition, Hunterdon and Stone Brewing Co. invite all Twitter followers to join in on the media buzz by using hash tags #EnjoyBy #NJ.

Aroma: I don’t know when the word “dank” became an official part of brewing descriptive lexicon, but it certainly fits here. Intense dank hoppiness, resin, peaches, and hints of tropical fruit are all evident in the aroma.

Palate: Smooth, hints of alcohol, and a perfect balance of bitterness and dryness on the back end.

Overall: We took the opportunity with this beer to use several interesting techniques we’ve learned over our many years of brewing great Double IPAs. The result is an intense dry beer with very little malt sweetness, but with plenty of malt flavor to provide a background to the enormous…or shall I say “ginormous”…hop character.

Hopping, as might be expected, was over the top. First, the brew was mash hopped with Calypso, a beautiful fruity hop that we also used in our Stone 16th Anniversary IPA, after which we kettle hopped with a very small dose of Super Galena hop extract for bittering. Then, using a technique that some homebrew circles call “hop bursting,” we loaded up very heavily on the flavor hops at the end of the boil and in the whirlpool. Simcoe, Delta, Target and Amarillo were used in the late kettle hop. Motueka, Citra, and Cascade were used for the whirlpool hop. As you can clearly tell, this beer was super hoppy even before we dry-hopped it, but then we went for it…dry-hopping with 1lb per barrel EACH of New Zealand Nelson Sauvin and Australian Galaxy.

Drink extra-super-dank-and-tasty Stone Enjoy By IPA well before its 35 day shelf life to maximize the pungent glory that this beautiful, intense hop profile provides.

ABV 9.4%
IBU 88
OG 18.5°P
TG 2°P

Where can you find Stone Enjoy By 09.21.12 IPA, you ask?Take a look here at the accounts lined up to receive this highly-limited brew. Cheers!